Conventional toilets typically employ a number of essential components. First, a porcelain water tank is mounted immediately above a porcelain bowl from which a quantity of water is rapidly drained in order to flush waste from the bowl into a sewer system. One very common design uses a flapper valve made of an elastomeric material that covers the drain outlet of the tank. When the flush handle on the outside of the tank is manually actuated, typically by pushing the handle downwardly, the flapper valve is lifted by means of a flush lever via a chain or other connecting means. This allows the head of water in the tank to drain through the flush valve and the drain outlet. The flapper valve is typically designed with an inverted air chamber so that it initially floats as it is lifted away from the drain outlet in the bottom of the tank. This allows sufficient flushing water to flow into the bowl even if the user immediately releases the flush handle. When the water level in the tank drops, the tank is automatically refilled through a fill valve connected to a water supply line.
Current flush levers used with toilet tanks typically comprise a rotatable handle disposed to the tank exterior, a flush lever disposed within the tank interior and a mechanical coupling disposed between the rotatable handle and the flush lever. The mechanical coupling extends through an aperture defined within a tank wall that separates the tank exterior and the tank interior, the tank interior comprising the vessel for storing that amount of water that is used to flush the toilet upon rotation of the aforementioned rotatable handle. Actuation of the flush lever is accomplished by pushing the end of the rotatable handle downwardly (or rearwardly depending on the handle's orientation), thereby lifting the flush lever about a central pivot point. All of this mechanical action relies essentially on gravity, the flush lever and flapper valve typically being heavier than the flush handle, and on the flotation of the flapper valve within the tank.
In the view of this inventor, there is a need to allow the flush lever and the rotatable handle to be mounted such that it can be operated in a number of different ways. For example, one operational position, the handle is a standard front left mount (as viewed by a user standing and facing the toilet bowl), with the handle being disposed in a horizontal position with handle rotation being downward. Another is the same type of mount, but where the horizontal handle is positioned on the left side of the tank, with handle rotation also being downward. Another is a standard angle mount where the handle is disposed in either a vertical or a horizontal position and can be pushed or pulled depending on the internal configuration of the toilet tank. In any one of the operational positions, it would be desirable that the lever consistently return to its default or neutral position irrespective of the orientation of the handle relative to the tank. That is, it would be desirable to provide a “dual action” for the handle whereby rotation of the handle in two different directions always results in the handle returning to its default position, i.e. horizontal or vertical.
There is also a need for such a handle and flush lever such that one portion of the flush lever can be variably adjustable within 360° of rotation and by adjustments every 15° for optimal placement of the flush lever as desired or required. Lastly, there is also a need to provide another portion of the flush lever that can be variably adjustable within 180° of rotation and by adjustments also every 15°. Such would allow the wide variety of handle placements as discussed above.